Why Spotify's AI DJ feature can beat every other music app?

These days, the first thing many people do isn't scroll through Instagram or TikTok . Instead, they plug in their headphones and turn on some music. Honestly, it's the best way to set the mood for the day. The only time they actually take their headphones off is when they're about to go to bed.

 

People have tried a lot of music streaming apps over the years, and Spotify is still the top choice. And honestly, one feature in particular beats every other music app—it's just so damn good.

Spotify's AI DJ feature outperforms any music playlist you've ever tried

Now, you can't imagine any other way of listening to music.

 

While many streaming apps now have similar feature sets (which isn't really a surprise), one Spotify feature that users are really excited about is AI DJ. This is a feature that the company introduced in 2023, and it's a personalized AI guide that plays music curated based on your listening habits and musical tastes.

Before I actually used AI DJ properly, many people were fascinated by Spotify's Daylist feature because it automatically curated a new playlist for them every few hours - one that perfectly matched their mood throughout the day. But once I started using AI DJ, even Daylist couldn't compare.

Just like a human DJ, the AI ​​DJ talks between tracks and basically briefs you on what it's going to play next. Many times, the DJ will add interesting stats from your listening history, like "last week you listened to this song three days in a row." For those who obsessively track their listening stats, this is really cool.

 

Spotify's AI DJs take everything you love about those mood playlists and bring them to life, as if Spotify had become a personal radio host who really knows you. The tracks DJs choose aren't always songs you've heard before. Instead, they're a mix of everyday favorites and songs that are completely new but somehow just right. It's the perfect balance—familiar enough to keep you hooked, but new enough to keep things interesting.

You have more control over the AI ​​DJ's arrangement order

You decide your mood every time you listen to music

 

When you listen to music from a Spotify Daylist, a playlist you create yourself, or a Spotify-curated mix, there's not much you can do other than skip tracks or like them. You don't have much control over what kind of music is played.

This is not the case with Spotify's AI DJ. If you're using DJ to listen to music and it doesn't suit your mood, you can press the DJ button in the bottom right corner and it will instantly change.

In May 2025, Spotify finally gave users even more control over the type of music DJs play. Now, you just press and hold the DJ button, then say or type a request directly into it, like "play something upbeat," "play some 2010s pop," or "play study music." The DJ will then adjust the queue in real time!

However, there is one point to note!

Not everything is perfect

 

While the AI ​​DJ feature is awesome, and people could talk about it all day, there is one caveat. Unfortunately, Spotify has locked this feature behind a paid requirement, and it is only available to Spotify Premium users . So if you are on the free plan, you won't be able to try it out.

The feature is still in beta, so it hasn't rolled out to all regions yet. This beta phase means that the streaming giant may decide to expand access to free users. If you have a Premium account, you won't have to worry about that. However, one complaint people have about this feature (and Spotify in general when it comes to other features) is that the desktop experience always seems slower than the mobile app.

While the AI ​​DJ is available on the desktop version of Spotify, messaging and voice requests are still missing. You can listen to whatever the DJ is playing, but you can't actually interact with it like you can on your phone. If you work on a laptop all day and mostly listen to music on it, not having control over the sound is pretty frustrating.

Many people often have the habit of reaching for their phones just to change the atmosphere or ask the DJ to change the genre, which defeats the original purpose of this feature on the computer.

Spotify isn't without its flaws, which is to be expected, but the DJ feature makes the listening experience more personal and really makes everyday listening a lot more enjoyable.